An International Relations student of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) of batch 2013 performing student exchange at Hunan University of Science and Technology (HUST), the People’s Republic of China, Muhammad Iqbal achieved the runner up of Chinese Traditional Culture Talent. He was the only international student passed to the final round of the competition conducted on Saturday night (17/12) –Chinese time – by a Chinese Cultural Organization.

In an interview on Monday (19/12), Iqbal informed that the winner of the competition was May, and the second runner up was June and Hannah that thee of them are Chinese students taking Department of Teaching Chinese for Foreign Language. He also told that the competition was followed by HUST students who are capable of Chinese cultures such opera, singing Chinese songs, Kung Fu, traditional dances, and playing Chinese traditional instruments. “I joined opera that I engaged in dancing, Kung Fu, singing, and storytelling in Mandarin,” Iqbal said.

Iqbal conveyed that to win the competition the participants needed to understand Chinese culture besides mastering the language. “The scoring criteria were based on participants’ delivery, Chinese costumes, Chinese language intonation, and expression,” he mentioned.

Iqbal believed that joining Chinese competition can enhance his language proficiency and understanding of Chinese culture so that he attempted to participate in many Chinese competitions. “Joining the competition, I could see non-Chinese students’ skills, particularly after they have learned Chinese language for a semester,” he asserted.

“Competing with local students showed that Indonesia students can be the winner in overseas institutions. Thus, Indonesian students may not feel inferior to join competitions that the participants may possess better capability since participating in the competitions will foster our own skills,” Iqbal advised.